


House of Destiny

by AMLrox29



Category: Destiny (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Fallen/Eliksni, Other
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-07-25 19:04:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,579
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7544311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AMLrox29/pseuds/AMLrox29
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A group of Guardians discovers an Awoken woman among a group of the Fallen House of Winter...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I'm trying my hand at an idea I had for a story just after the House of Wolves DLC came out. Please like/comment/share if you enjoy!
> 
> Knowledge of Fallen/Eliksni Lore is perferred but not entirely necessary. Here are some quick lore videos if you would like to watch them before reading (I highly recommend it for later chapters):
> 
> https://youtu.be/New7_QDWUJk  
> https://youtu.be/Z8lR2Kk0YKo

          The Awoken mother gazed upon her baby with sadness as the ship began its descent to the surface of Earth.  She knew what she was about to do, but she never imagined that carrying out the act in reality would feel so terrible inside. 

           “Are you ready?” the ship-maid said.

           The mother took her eyes off her child and slowly nodded as the ship came to a halt on the ground.  The door opened and she stepped off the ship, baby in arms, but not for long…

           She found a place where her baby could be comfortable in a shroud of bushes.  She placed the child within them and looked at her for one last time, a tear rolling down her cheek.  She returned to the ship in her silent cry, the ship-maids did not dare stare at her.  The ship took flight once more and the entire cabin sat in grief, and a bit of disgrace, at what they had just done.

          Heaven help those people, for they did not know at the time of the child’s great Destiny… 


	2. The Encounter on Venus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A battle ensues on the near the Waking Ruins...

               

                The woman and her Fallen comrades ran across the jungles of Venus with determination in their hearts.  They saw a Guardian ship land somewhere across the neighboring acreage, and they wanted blood.  Unlucky for them, the Guardians who were emerging from that ship also wanted blood, the blood of the Fallen or even the Vex.  Both the Fallen and the Guardians were racing closer and closer to each other, ready for a battle.

                The woman gave the commands to the Fallen pack she was with, she was seen as valuable to them and stayed in the back of the group for her protection.  Through commands, she led the Fallen to a small area adjacent to the Waking Ruins where they had seen the Guardians’ ship descend.  They stood on a somewhat-tall rock edge, waiting for the onslaught to begin with the sight of the Guardians.    

                The six Guardians slowly walked towards the rocky edge that the Fallen were waiting on.  They were always on high-alert; they had to be prepared for any type of strike from either the Vex or the Fallen when they wanted to patrol Venus.  Today, it just happened to be Fallen they would fight. 

                One male Guardian in particular spotted a Dreg on the rock edge the Fallen pack was hiding on.  He took a shot at it, and so the battle began.  Both Guardians and Fallen were spreading their bullets over the flora-covered land in the Waking Ruins.  It is surprising that the Vex nearby did not notice the onslaught.  Some Fallen were killed before the male Guardian heard the Fallen woman giving commands from the back of the rock edge.  And soon, all six of the Guardians were aware of the situation at hand.

                “Eliminate more of the Fallen, then G-Two and I will capture the Awoken!” the male Guardian exclaimed into the intercom that was built into the helmets of his fellow Guardians.

                The Guardians continued to wipe-out some of the Fallen soldiers, and when he thought it was time, the male Guardian and G-Two flanked to the right side of the area and moved towards the Fallen woman.  Both she and some Vandal comrades began to shoot at the Guardians, but their armor was able to deter most to all of the damage caused by the bullets.  The Guardians eliminated the nearby Vandals and tried to detain the Fallen woman, but she kicked, clawed, and thrashed her way out of their grasp, whilst yelling obscenities at them in her native Fallen tongue.  She began to run towards the Citadel, where she hoped the Vex would distract the Guardians.  But not far from where she made her first escape, she was taken down to the ground by the Guardians yet again.  They soon braced her hands together.  They began to hurry her to their ship; the Fallen woman continued to lash around and try to escape a second time, but to no avail.  The Guardians ran away from the Fallen, wanting to avoid any more conflict.  All of the six Guardians returned to the ship as the woman’s Fallen comrades where left on the ground of Venus in total dismay at what had just occurred.  They were now leaderless.  One Captain even began to yell the cry that was used to mourn a beloved one who had passed on to the after-life.  The rest of the Fallen who were still alive joined in the cry…because the Fallen woman may as well have died.  Since she was taken by the Guardians, they were most-likely never going to see her again.  She may as well have been dead.  The Fallen began their journey back to their ship in the Cinders, wondering about what horrors were awaiting their Fallen comrade on the Guardians’ ship.

        


	3. On the Ship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fireteam contemplate the recent events...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick shout out to my friend Collin for teaching me that 'field strip' is the technical term for cleaning/gun maintenance!

                 

                The Guardians sat silent in curiosity.  What had they just encountered?  Never in history had another person been discovered in alien territory, who had seem to have adopted their culture.  It had always been thought that Fallen were immediately appalled by sapien life, that they would retaliate on the spot.  Apparently this is not so, at least, not anymore

                “Can I ask something?”  G-Two, a female Guardian, asked.

                “Sure” G-Four, an Exo male replied.

                “How in the hell did this happen?”

                “I’m not sure I can say.”

                “What are y’all doing?” G-Three entered the area that the pod containing the Fallen woman was in.

                “Questioning how and or why this happened” G-Four said.

                “Like any of us are going to figure it out anytime soon” G-Three replied.

                G-Six let out a short laugh, “Why don’t you go and ask her” he said jokingly.

                They all looked to the pod where the Fallen woman was being held.  It was made up of two smaller areas, the first door lead to what could be considered a viewing area.  The outer wall being soundproof so whatever disturbances the prisoner is making go unheard to the general crew.  On the opposite side of the area were steel bars that made up a side of the holding cell itself. 

                “I’ll go”, G-One said as he walked in the room.

                “Oh really now?” G-Six replied.  “With that thing inside?”  The Guardians looked through the door’s window and saw the Fallen woman running around her cell, hitting and scratching at the walls. 

                “Sure, why not.  I had to capture her and bring her on the ship, I’m sure I can handle simply trying to communicate with her on the other side of a set of bars.”

                “Fine,” G-Six said in a snarky tone.  “Be my guest.”

                “Hey, wait a minute!” G-Two said as G-One was about to open the outer door to the cell.  “Aren’t you supposed to be piloting the ship?”

                “Oh, G-Five’s on that.”  He then yelled into the cockpit: “Ain’t that right Five?”

                “You betcha!” G-Five, a fairly new female Guardian, yelled back.

                “Oh gosh,” G-Three said.  “I better go help her.”  She got up and began to walk to the cockpit.

                “You know she’s never going to learn for herself if you keep coddling her,” G-Four inquired.

                G-Three spun back around and sharply whispered to G-Four, “I’m not coddling her I’m just trying to make sure she won’t crash the ship!”  G-Three was one of the oldest on the Fireteam and had been their main pilot for years, so trusting anybody else with the job and doing well at it was hard for her to grasp.

                “Would you be mad if I said I was co-piloting for this leg of the trip?” G-One asked blatantly.

                “A bit, but I guess it does help me put a little more faith in her,” G-Three then turned and entered the cockpit. 

                “Yeesh, what’s her problem?” G-Six said as he stood up and walked into the common room of the ship.  The rest of the fireteam members rolled their eyes as G-Six always had the bad attitude, so he was the least qualified person to be judging.

                G-Two sighed, “Well I’m going to go do a field strip on my pulse rifle.”  She concluded, “I think I may have gotten some Fallen blood inside the barrel.  You want to come with?” she asked G-Four.

                “Nah, I think I’m going to go lay down,” G-Four replied.  “unless you want me to stay here.”  G-Four said to G-One.

                “Is your shoulder still bugging you from this morning?” G-One asked.

                “Yeah, not as much though.”

                “I think I’ll be okay.  Plus Six is in the next room, he doesn’t like me very much but I’d like to think he would put his personal opinions aside to back me up if necessary.”

                “True,” G-Two said.  “And I’d bet he would love to have a chance to possibly shoot the prisoner.”

                “Yeah I bet he would,” G-One replied.  “By the way, Two, how’d you get blood _inside_ of the barrel?”

                “Well–um,” G-Two stuttered.

                “Yeah…” G-One knew she was hiding something.

                G-Two then said slowly, “I kinda victory stabbed a Vandal…heh.”

                G-One gave G-Two a more-friendly disapproving look, because they both know that hitting something with its barrel would damage it however slightly.  “Okay well don’t come crying to me when you have to get the Glimmer to buy a new one.  And you and everybody else in the System knows that thing’s your baby.”

                G-Two lifted the pulse rifle, making sure it wasn’t accidently pointed at anyone, “That’s true, it has been good to me.  I’m gonna go give her a nice cleaning, see you later, One.”

                “See ya,” G-One replied.  G-Two then walked out of the room with G-Four following behind.    

                G-One punched in the passcode for the outer door of the cell, “here goes nothing.”

 


	4. First Communications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> G-One enters the Fallen woman's holding cell...

               

                G-One inhaled a sharp breath as the outer door to the pod closed.  He stared in an almost shocked state at the Fallen woman.  She was laying in her cell, curled up against the back wall.  Her torso was heaving from the deep breaths she was taking.  The walls were striped in various directions with small amounts of blood.  This was from her many failed attempts to escape the chamber she was confined in.  It took her a second to realize that the Guardian had walked in.  When she did she rolled over onto her right side, facing the bars separating them.  She slowly began to stand.  Once stood, both she and the Guardian simply stared at each other.  They both had a look of study in their eyes; they seemed to be examining the other as if they had never seen another person before.  This was much truer for the Fallen woman, however.  All her life she had only seen other humans from afar, covered in armor.  She had never seen a Guardian up close in her life, a living one that is. 

                But all too quickly the Fallen woman’s curiosity reverted back the seething rage from before as she remembered whom the person standing in front of her was.  He had taken her from her home, her family... _her_ _House_.  She began to make a growling noise and then suddenly lunged towards the cell bars.  G-One lurched backwards against the door in order to create more space between him and the Fallen woman, who obviously wanted blood to be drawn by her hands this time around.  G-One tried to communicate with her through all her manic clawing, kicking, and Eliksni shouting. 

                “Alright, alright,” he began.  “I know you probably don’t understand why you’re here or what I’m saying.  But I’m going to try to communicate with you somehow.”  He put his hands out and slowly slid to the floor.  The Fallen woman observed this and stopped hitting the bars and sat as well. 

                He continued, “Look, as much as you don’t want to hear it, you don’t belong on Venus, okay?  You’re an Awoken, and ever since the Collapse, people can’t live anywhere but Earth for long periods of time without constantly having to wear a helmet.  Although you seem to have no problem with that, you’ve probably lived your whole life that way.  Now, my fellow Guardians and I are taking you to a place called the Reef.  It’s located in the Asteroid Belt. Whether you’ve passed through it I don’t know but it’s where you’ll be in an hour or so.  So for your own good I would try and stay as relaxed as possible until we get there.  We have a Fallen from the House of Judgement there who can translate for you so things will go a lot smoother.  So just sit tight until then.”

                G-One began to open the outer door to the pod, “Oh and whether you like it or not, you probably won’t end up in the Prison of Elders.”  He then walked out of the pod back into the central cabin of the ship and sat down near G-Four.


	5. Docking

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fireteam dock at the Reef...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not an entirely stimulating chapter. But you can't have a fanfiction without at least a little bit of fluff, right? :)

                “Oh hey man, how’d it go?” G-Four asked G-One.

                “I don’t know, it went,” G-One replied.

                “What do you mean ‘It went’?”  G-Four asked as he sat up in his bed.

                “I went in, told her how she’s being taken to the Reef, and walked out.”

                “Did she respond?”

                “Not really, other than trying to attack me at first.  But while I was talking she just stared at me, I’m assuming she still wanted to attack me though.”  G-One grabbed two water bottles out of the ships refrigerator and handed one to G-Four. 

                “Most likely.”

                G-One stood up, “I’m going to check in with Three and Five.”

                “Okay, I’m gonna go back to my nap.” G-Four then rolled back onto his side

                “As we’d both expect you to.”  G-One and G-Four both let out slight chuckles as G-Four was never one to pass up time to sleep.

                G-One walked into the cockpit and found G-Five calmly piloting the ship while G-Three sat in the co-pilot’s chair with a subtle, judgmental glare on her face.  G-One couldn’t help but smile at her.  “How’s it going in here?”

                G-Three replied sharply, “Fine.”

                “I think I’m doing okay,” G-Five replied in a somewhat questioning tone.

                 “You look like you’re doing okay,” G-One examined all the gauges, signals, and switches on the ship’s control panel.  The purple glow of the Asteroid Belt was fairly visible.  “Still heading towards the Reef from what I can see.  And we seem to be making good timing too.”  He then asked G-Three with a grin, “What do you think?”

                “I think I’m going to join Two in the festivities of field stripping.”  G-Three got up out of the co-pilot’s chair.  “My machine gun kinda took a beating today.”  She then walked out of the cockpit.

                “We should be docking in about…” G-Five looked over a few controls.  “I’d say about 37 minutes, if the docking bays aren’t too full.”

                “Eh, I don’t think docking will be an issue.” G-One had much more experience with flying than the rest of the fireteam members with the exception of G-Three, and with flying comes docking.  G-One knew the docking patterns of the Guardians like the back of his hand at this point.  “It’s the middle of the afternoon, so the wave of after-lunch departures has passed and the early end-of-mission wave has yet to start.  We might even get a good spot.”

                “You think so?”  G-Five had been mentored under G-One’s lessons, so she took his word as the truth in almost all cases.

                “Oh yeah, last time a fireteam and I came back at around this time we didn’t even have to wait for another ship to dock.  It should be pretty easy for you.”

                “I’m glad you said that, today’s been pretty exhausting.”

                G-One sat down in the co-pilot’s chair, “That’s true, and interesting at that.”

                “Yeah, I definitely haven’t seen an Awoken fighting with the Fallen before.”

                “Nobody has really, at least not that I’ve heard of.”

                “I mean Queen Sov had Fallen fighting for her, but that was combined with her army of Awoken and–“

                G-One cut her off as they approached the docking area, “That’s a subject for another time.  You want to try and comm us in?”

                G-Five looked concerned, “But Three’s always done that.”  G-Three had never fully trusted G-Five with anything to do with description of pilot, that included comming in for docking or anything of the like. 

                “Yeah well she’s not here right now and I want you to prove to both her and yourself that you can just in case you don’t have anybody else in the cockpit, okay?”

                G-Five became nervous as she slowed the ship down to the speed that was permitted within the docking area’s limits.  “O-okay…” she said as she flipped the switch that allowed the docking bay’s radio signal to automatically call the ship’s comms.  This was done so the dock’s traffic controllers could easily direct ships coming in or out of the bays.

                “You’ll be fine; you’ve heard the rest of us say it a thousand times.  It might as well be a prayer to you at this point.  Just say what we say.”

                A voice from the docking bay’s radio call came on over the ship’s intercom, “Fireteam #2177 you have now entered the limits of the Reef’s Solar docking bay.  Please issue a response.”

                G-Five looked to G-One with a slight look of panic on her face.  G-One quietly whispered, “Go ahead.”

                “Yes, um.”  G-Five then took a deep breath and then clearly spoke, “This is Fireteam #2177 requesting permission to dock in the Solar bay.”  She seemed to surprise herself by how well she had uttered the sentence.  G-One couldn’t help but smile at his mentee.

                A few electronic sounds came over the intercom and then the voice returned, “Fireteam #2177 you have permission to dock in Solar bay 5C.  Please proceed to dock 5 on the far right, a Frame will be there to assist, is that clear?”

                “Solar bay 5C, clear.”

                “10-4 pilot, please dock safely.”

                “10-4, Fireteam #2177 out.”  G-Five disconnected the radio call and almost jumped out of her seat in excitement.  “I did it!”

                “Good job,” G-One said as he stood up.  “Now, I’m going to leave you to dock by yourself.  Again, it’s just in case you may have to do it by yourself; and if you ever go on solo patrols or missions then you will.  So I’ll leave you to it, if you need any help then just yell.  But you have a Frame assisting you so I’m sure you’ll be fine.”

                “Okay,”  G-Five was shining with confidence at this point, she had already docked in worse conditions, and her success with calling the ship in only made her more sure of her skill.

                Once docked, G-Five took it upon herself to double check that the Queen’s Guard had known about the Fallen woman they called in.  The Guard had certainly remembered and soon three Guards were aboard the ship. 

                “Where is the prisoner?”  The first Guard asked.

                “In the holding cell,” G-Two said.  “I’ll show you to her.”

                The Guardians soon heard the loud, scratchy shrieking that was the Fallen signature for distress.  The Guards came out into the main cabin of the ship with the Fallen woman kicking and thrashing around in their grasp.  They had restrained her arms already, but it seemed like it barely helped.  They then pushed her to the ground and with a struggle, restrained her feet.  The Guards walked out of the ship, but they soon felt the effort to keep the Fallen woman restrained was too much to not make a scene once they got to the central part of the Outpost.  One of the Guards nodded to the another and soon a tranquilizer gun was put to her neck.  The Guard pulled the trigger and not too long after the Fallen woman’s body went limp in the Guards’ arms.  The Guard put the gun back in his belt and the three continued their walk to the Outpost’s holding cells. 

                Some of the Guardians were shocked at what they had just seen.  Never before had the Queen’s Guard had to use a tranquilizer gun on another human, or especially an Awoken.  But they probably did not view her as a human or Awoken, but more of a Fallen alien as she had been reported as such. 

                G-Six returned to the cell where the Fallen woman had been held.  He looked to the floor and saw that her cloak was on the floor, slightly tattered and bloodstained.  It was fairly large for someone her size as well.  He picked it up and recognized the House Sigil, “House of Winter, huh?”  He roughed his brow in confusion, “Wait…why does she have a cloak in the first place?”


	6. At the House

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians return to their home in the Vestian Web...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've come up with names for the Guardians and while I sloppily introduce them, here's a simple index with some pronounciation help:  
> One- Daydrius  
> Two- Rane  
> Three- Amdany (am-di-ny)  
> Four- Carove  
> Five- Laila (lie-la)  
> Six- Syden

The Fireteam soon exited the ship and walked in near silence back to what could be called the neighborhoods of the Reef.  All of the Guardians who decided to take up residence in the Reef after their aid to the Queen in capturing the House of Wolves lived in a sectioned off area of the Vestian Web, the heart of the Reef.  This area had been nicknamed Sector G by the local Awoken and the Guardians, the ‘G’ standing for the title of its residents.  The Queen gifted this neighborhood to them for their help, and so she could be assured that she would have their assistance if needed.  The Fireteam had just entered the limits of Sector G when G-Three moved to the other side of the group where G-Two was.  She pulled her so they were behind the rest of the group.

                “So what was she like?” G-Three whispered.

                “Excuse me?” G-Two asked in confusion.

                “The Fallen prisoner, what was she like?” G-Three repeated.

                “I mean she acted how any Fallen of Eliksni blood would act.  She was savage, hateful, but that’s kind of understandable.  You know, considering the fact that she was being captured by a group of people she had only fought assumingly her whole life.”

                G-Four dropped back to join the conversation, “Well assuming she was raised in Fallen hands since childhood, or even before that, she must have learned our language from somewhere, right?”

                “What are you talking about?”  G-Two asked.

                “Well, according to One, she understands us.”  G-Four then patted G-One on the shoulder, “Ain’t that right buddy?”

                G-Three rushed to G-One, “What is he talking about?”

                “I don’t actually know if she speaks our language, okay.”  G-One said.

                “Then where did Carove–“

                G-One cut off G-Two, “It’s Four, alright?  We may be in Sector G but that doesn’t mean we can use our real names yet.  Not until we report in.”  G-One was adamant on sticking to code.

                “Sorry,” G-Two said.  “Then where did _Four_ get that idea from?”

                “The only implication that she possibly knows our language is that when I began to speak to her, she stopped all of her growling and thrashing around.  I guess maybe by that she was trying to listen to me, like _maybe_ she could understand me.”

                G-Six chimed in, “I guess we’ll know when the Guard questions her, right?”

                “Wouldn’t they just use Variks for that?”  G-Five pointed out.

                “Or somebody that speaks Eliksni,” G-One replied.

                G-Six looked a bit embarrassed at how stupid his question seemed now, “R-right…”

                G-Three and G-Four gave each other a confused look, as what had just happened was completely out of character for G-Six.  G-Three then asked, trying to take the conversation to a casual point as the Fireteam approached their house, “Soooo what does everybody want for dinner?”

                “Honestly, I down for anything,” Two said.  The rest of the Guardians nodded in agreement.

                “Yeah, I’m starving,” G-Four said while rubbing the area where his stomach would be.

                “Oh, shut up,” G-One said in a laughing tone.  “We all know you don’t eat.”

                “Yeah I know, I’m just messing with you.”

                “So for those who do eat,” G-Five said and then gave G-Four a smirk.  She then punched in the passcode to enter their house and opened the door.  “I would be willing to go down to the market and pick up something.”

                The Guardians' houses were all similar in their architecture.  The front door lead to the main room of the house.  This contained an open-floor plan with a living room in the center, a kitchen on the left and a dining room on the right.  Two hallways extended from the living room where the bedrooms, bathrooms, and armories were.  The bedrooms each accommodated for three Guardians.  Since the Fireteams were of mixed combinations of gender, nobody cared about how they were arranged.  However for various reasons, this Fireteam had decided to do it by their genders.  All of the Guardians, once returned to their house, must request permission to be reported as off-duty for the day.  Only after this could they not have to follow mission orders, such as wearing their gear, calling each other by their code names, and things of the like.  Although they may be called into duty in cases of emergencies; this is why the Queen placed their quarters at the heart of the Reef.   

                “Aren’t we running kind of low on glimmer though?” G-One asked.

                “Right now yes,” G-Five replied as she walked into the main room of the house, the rest of the Guardians followed her to the console to report as off-duty.  “But if we trade in some of the gear we get from the engrams we’ve picked up, we should have enough to get us through a little over a week or so.”

                “Sounds good to me,” G-Four said.  “Do you want me to come with you?”

                “Sure,” G-Five replied.  G-Four had the biggest amount of memory for engrams out of the entire group, him being the Exo after all.  Although he always was the one to go and turn them in to the Cryptarchs, he liked to ask each time out of curtesy. 

                “Are we all officially off-duty?” G-Two asked.

                The other Guardians nodded.

                G-Two then let out a sigh of relief and took off her body armor, wearing only the spandex-like body suit underneath.  “Finally,” she said and flopped down on the sofa.

                “How’d we all know you were going to do that?” G-One asked sarcastically.

                “Because I always do,” G-Two then stood up.  “And as always I realize that sitting here in this sweating, heavy armor isn’t going to do me any good,” G-Two walked into the hallway that lead to the female Guardians accommodations.  “And now I take my leave to take a nice, hot shower!”

                With that remark, the rest of the Guardians went to their respective rooms to change out of their armor, bathe, and simply relax after their interesting day.  G-Five and G-Four were about to head out to run their errands.

                “Okay so I have everybody’s engrams?” G-Four asked.

                All the Guardians nodded their heads.

                “And the only person that wanted to keep the decryption was Amdany with the gauntlets, right?”

                G-Three, whose real name was Amdany, nodded, “Yep.”

                “Okay,” G-Five said.  “I guess we’re going then,” Carove and Laila (G-Five) then exited the house.

…………………………………

                Carove and Laila were at the outskirts of the business district of the Reef, standing by a shop, Black Wax Idol Candles.

                “Okay so you’ll go trade in the engrams for armor, then armor for Glimmer,” Laila said.  “And it should take me that amount of time to walk to the market, but I’ll message you when I get there just in case I get there early or something, okay?”

                “Sure thing,” Carove said.  “And we’ll meet back here afterwards.”

                “Yeah, I’ll see you then.”

                Laila and Carove then went their separate ways as they went to their various objectives. 

                Carove had already turned in the engrams and stood in line, waiting to turn in the data for the gear into the armory in exchange for Glimmer.  He overheard the conversation of the two Guardians in front of him.

                “So what do you think they’re going to do with it?” a Titan asked the Warlock next to him.

                “Probably going to interrogate it for information on its House, might deprive it of Ether,” the Warlock replied.

                “Would it need Ether though?  I mean if it really isn’t a Fallen genetically…”

                Carove cut in, “What are you guys talking about?  If you don’t mind me asking.”

                “Oh you didn’t hear?” the Titan asked.  “Apparently the Queen’s Guard was seen carrying in an Awoken woman clad in Fallen armor.  They think she was _living_ _and fighting_ with the Fallen.”

                “Really?” Carove asked, acting like he didn’t know about the Fallen woman.  He wanted to avoid revealing that he was in the Fireteam that actually captured her. 

                “Yeah, I’m actually surprised the Fireteam that captured her hasn’t revealed themselves yet.”  The Titan said.

                “The Queen probably doesn’t want anyone saying anything yet, she’ll want to fully understand the situation first, knowing her.”  The Warlock inquired.

                 Carove joked, “Yeah, and Uldren’s probably going to want to immediately throw her in the Prison, knowing him.”  The three Guardians laughed.

                After Carove was done trading in the gear, he messaged Laila.  She bought various edible roots, grasses, flowers, and fruits that had just been shipped in from Venus.  She always loved to cook with the ingredients that naturally came from the planet.  It cost a little more to buy the produce from a collector who took trips directly to the planet; however the Fireteam felt that it was worth it.  The plant life on Venus was known to be highly rich in nutrients and kept them in the health necessary for peak fighting performance. 

                 Carove was standing at the candle shop waiting anxiously for Laila to show up.  He finally spotted her and bolted towards her.  Laila instantly became confused.  Carove always had a lax demeanor, so this was completely out of left field.

                “What’s going on?” Laila asked as Carove finally got to her.  “Is there something wrong?”

                “We need to get back to the house,” Carove grabbed her by the wrist.  “Come on!”

                Once the two got back to the house, Carove quickly punched in the passcode for the front door and dove into the living room.  The Guardians in the vicinity jumped and Laila quickly shut the front door.

                “Woah, what’s up with you?” G-Six asked.

                “We all need to talk,” Carove said in the most serious tone he had spoken in in years.  He quickly counted off five Guardians including himself, G-Two being the only one missing.  “Rane–where’s Rane!?”

                “What do you want?” G-Two (Rane) asked in a grunt.  “I was taking a nap.”

                “They know!” Carove said in a panic.

                G-One stood up and spoke in a level tone in order to try to calm Carove down, “Okay, who knows what?”

                Carove grabbed G-One by the shirt collar, “They know about the woman we captured earlier today.  They know, Daydrius, they know!”

                G-One (Daydrius) unlocked Carove’s hands from his shirt, “ _Who_ knows?”  He slowly sat Carove into a chair.

                “Everyone,” Carove said.  “I overheard some other Guardians talking about it while I was in line to trade in the armor.  People saw the Guards bring her in.”

                “That’s what you’re freaking out about?” G-Six asked.

                Carove turned around in his chair to face G-Six, “Yes, Syden, that’s what I’m freaking out about!”

                “Seriously?” G-Six (Syden) asked again.

                “Yes!  How many times do I have to say it?”

                Daydrius made Carove face him, “Listen to me, okay?  How long have you known me?”

                “What?” Carove asked in confusion.

                “Just answer the question.”

                “About…6 years this Earth winter.”

                “And we’ve been fighting together for the same amount of time, right?”

                “Yes.”

                “So you trust me at this point?”

                “Of course.”

                Daydrius took a deep breath, “Then trust me when I say this: even though I don’t know the Queen personally, I know how she works.  She wouldn’t let out important information about this kind of thing out to the public until the time is right, especially not after the incident with the House of Wolves.  And she is a respectful Queen, so it would be very unlikely that she would reveal our identities without asking permission.  Is that what you’re worried about?”

                Carove nodded, “Yeah, part of it.”

                “Well I doubt you even need to be worried about any parts of it, because nothing bad is going to happen, okay?”

                “Okay.”

                “Now just sit here and watch some broadcasting, okay?” Daydrius turned on the television on the back wall of the living room.

                “Okay.”

                Daydrius walked over to Amdany, “Can you keep an eye on him?”

                “Sure,” Amdany walked over and sat on the sofa adjacent to Carove.

                Daydrius then walked into the kitchen and sat next to Syden.

                “What was up with that?” Syden asked, obviously referring to the panicked Carove he had never seen before. 

                “Oh, that?  Yeah, Carove can overreact to certain stuff sometimes.  But he’s always fine afterwards.”  Daydrius calmly replied.

                “Aren’t you ever worried he’ll flip out in the middle of a mission?”

                “Nah, not really.  He’s only ever had a freak-out when he’s off-duty, never during a mission.  It just doesn’t happen.  It’s like he goes into another part of himself during missions, anyway.  He gets hyper focused and it basically overrides any other emotions he has.  And plus I’ve only seen it happen a small handful of times in the last 6 years.”

                “You know, come to think of it, my parents always told me Exo’s didn’t have emotions.”

                “Well, not to insult them but they were being ignorant and very, very wrong.”

                Laila walked into the kitchen with the bags of produce, “Could one of you help me cook?”  She put the bags on the counter.

                Syden jumped up, “Sure, I can.”  He immediately started taking out the contents of the bags out and washing them.  “Are these fresh zoaberries?”

                “Yup,” Laila replied.  “Delivered this morning according to the guy I bought them from.”

                “They sure look that way,” Syden grabbed a colander out of the cabinet below the sink and began to wash the berries.

                Daydrius walked over to Rane, who was standing in the front of the hall to her room, “Are you seeing what I’m seeing?” he asked.

                “I think so,” Rane replied.  They both saw Syden and Laila smiling, and Syden even started to laugh.  “Well I’ll be damned, Syden-freaking-Zav actually smiled, and even laughed, in a not-smartassy way.”

                “I know right?  I think I may have just seen the start of the second Golden Age.”

                “Okay let’s not get too ahead of ourselves,” Rane said.  Once he starts being nice to _all_ of us, then will the Ishtar Collective be rebuilt, but not now.”  They both laughed.

………………………

                Dinner had long passed and most of the Guardians in Sector G had long gone to bed, except for Daydrius.  He had decided to sit out on what could be considered a balcony outside of their house, in a reclining chair.  He couldn’t sleep; all he could think about was his encounter with the Fallen woman in her holding cell.  Maybe she did understand him, but he wouldn’t know for at least the rest of the night. 

                He heard the door open and saw Rane step onto the balcony, dressed in a long bathrobe and holding a folded-up blanket.  “Hey,” she simply said. 

                “Hey,” he replied.

                “I figured I’d bring you this,” she handed him the blanket.  “We both know it can get cold out here sometimes.”  She then walked behind him and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.  “So guess who’s in bed with Laila?”

                “You’ve got to be kidding me, already?”

                “They still have their clothes on, don’t worry.  And they both know Amdany’s a light sleeper.  Trust me I’ve heard Laila snore a little too loud and it woke her up, there’s no way they could do anything.”

                “Yeah, that would be difficult with the living situations.” Daydrius rubbed Rane’s arm gently.  “I guess we were lucky that we dated during the solo part of my career, huh?”  They both smiled.

                “Yeah, I guess so,” she unwrapped her arms from around Daydrius.  “Well I better get back to bed.  Did you know Syden snores?”

                “Yeah, you’re welcome to sleep in my bed if you want.  Carove doesn’t snore, obviously.”

                “Why couldn’t I just sleep in Syden’s bed?”

                “Well one: do you _really_ want to?  Two: I pretty sure he has night sweats.  And three: I know how much you love being cuddled.”  Daydrius turned and smiled at her. 

                “That may be true, but Daydrius, we had our time.”

                “I know,” he said as he stood.  He slowly walked over towards Rane.  “But now I think we simply enjoy each other’s company.  We like spending time together, and I’m not implying that we _should_ get back together.  I’m saying we’re people and most people need affection to be happy.  We could just have a casual thing, ya know?”

                “I guess,” she said.  “But it’s not official, right?”

                “Not at all.  If we both want to sleep together, fine.  Like I said we’ll just enjoy each other’s company.”

                Rane thought about it for a second, “Okay, but it won’t be anything serious; you know how that ended last time.”  She turned and opened the door and grabbed Daydrius’ hand.

                They quietly walked into the room Daydrius shared with Syden and Carove.  They could tell Carove was asleep.  Rane lifted the covers and crawled into Daydrius’ bed, with him getting in afterwards.  Rane laid her head on his chest, “Yeah, this is nice.” She said with a smile.

                Daydrius was about to close his eyes when he said, “I just remembered something.”

                “What is it? Rane asked.

                “Remember how I went into the holding cell to try and talk to the Fallen woman we captured?”

                “Yeah.”

                “She had a scar…” he drew an imaginary line from the corner of left brow to the bottom of his right jaw, his action barely visible in the dark.  “…across her face and a little bit on her neck.  It looked like it had been cut deep.”

                “Huh.” Rane replied.  “That’s weird.”

                “Yeah, I wonder how she got it…”


	7. The Next Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians finally get some rest after their interesting day, however it is cut short...

                 Dawn came, and Daydrius was woken up by the light of day hitting his face.  He looked beside him and saw that the spot in his bed adjacent to him was empty.  He slowly sat up and rubbed his eyes.  He then stood up and walked out to the main area of the house.  Rane was in the kitchen making breakfast for the rest of her fellow Guardians.  Daydrius walked over next to her and started cutting up fruit.  Rane looked up at him for about a second before he looked back.  They both smiled at each other and then went back to their tasks.  It wasn’t too much longer before Amdany came into the living room yawning.

                 “Guess which two little love birds are sleeping together?” Amdany said, she then flopped sideways onto the sofa.

                “Oh,” Rane said.  “I know.”  She then took a cup of Ishtar-leaf tea out to the living room and set it on the table next to Amdany.

                “His snoring woke me up like five times,” Amdany then took the cup and sipped some of the tea.  “Thanks for this by the way,” she said as she placed the cup back on the table.

                A voice came over the house’s built-in intercom, “Fireteam #2177, your mission parameters for the day have been set.”  Amdany groaned at the voice and threw a blanket over her head.  The voice continued, “Please see your console for details.”

                “I hope we don’t have to leave early this morning,” Rane said.  “Only half of us are awake.”

                “Yeah,” Amdany sat up.  “And we haven’t eaten breakfast yet.”  She wrapped a blanket around herself, picked up her tea, and went and sat at a long, rectangular bar that separated part of the kitchen from the living room.

                “I’ll take a look and see,” Daydrius approached the console and opened the mission parameters.  “Huh?” he said, confused.

                “What are the parameters?” Rane asked.

                “There are none,” Daydrius replied.

                “What do you mean?” Amdany asked.

                “Well, there aren’t any in the conventional sense.  It just says ‘stay posted and await further instructions’.”

                “Really?” Amdany asked.

                “Yep.” Daydrius replied.

                “Sweet,” Amdany grinned.  “We might get to be lazy for a day.”

                “Well breakfast is almost ready,” Rane said.  “I guess I’ll go wake everyone else up.  Could you plate these for me, Daydrius?”  She said, referring to the omelets and assorted fruit on the counter. 

                “Sure,” he said as he reached for the cabinet that held the plates.  Rane disappeared into the hallway that lead to the room Laila and Syden were sleeping in.

 

                After breakfast, the Guardians all sat in various spots in the living room, watching a broadcast about the history of the Cabal.  Even though they had already learned about it during the education part of their training, it was good for them to refresh their memories once in a while.  But their viewing was interrupted when a signal overrided their program.  A broadcast of the Awoken Queen appeared.

                The Queen spoke: “Hello Guardians, this is Mara Sov, Queen of the Awoken.  I am requiring all members of Fireteam #2177 to report to the Center for the Royal Guard at 3pm sharp.  You may not decline this command and you may not speak of this to anyone.  You are only allowed to ask questions once let inside of the Center.  Thank you.”  The broadcast then cut back to the history of the Cabal as the Guardians sat there baffled at what just happened.  But they all knew exactly what they were being called in for.    


	8. The Cloak

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fallen woman speaks to one of the Guardians...

The group of Guardians was walking over to the Center of the Royal Guard.  They walked in silence, for they did not want to speak about the Fallen woman at all.  Nor were they allowed to speak of the call, as directed buy the Queen herself.  They approached the Center and were greeted by a few members of the Royal Guard at the entrance.  The Guards wore stern faces, and this instantly made the Guardians worried. 

                “Fireteam #2177?” one of the Guards asked.

                “Yes,” Daydrius, the official leader of the Fireteam, responded. 

                “Come with us,” a second Guard commanded.

                The Guardians silently walked behind two of the Guards.  Once they passed through the Center’s doors, another set of Guards followed behind.  The doors closed with an ominous shudder.  The Guardians were then led into a large hall with high ceilings.  All they could hear was the Guards’ boots hitting the floor as they walked, the sounds echoed throughout. 

                The group came to a large door covered in white, gold, and a purple-fuchsia color.  It bore the Queen’s crest on a massive scale.  The two Guards in the front opened the doors wide for the Guardians to step through.  They were greeted with the sight of the Queen’s meeting hall, of all things.  They then saw the Queen herself; although the Queen was not sitting in a seat at the massive table in the middle of the room.  No, she was sitting in a large throne that was elevated by a small flight of stairs in the back of the room.  Drapes in her signature colors hung over the area. 

                The Guardians also noticed that, at the table, there were two other significant figures of the Reef’s Royalty.  First was Uldren Sov, the Queen’s brother.  He commanded a fleet of scouters called The Crows.  He was even known as _The Crow_ himself in some cases.  The second figure was not technically royalty, although he was enough of an asset to the Queen that he might as well have been.  This of course was Variks.  He was a Fallen of the House of Judgement, a House that reigned in the old world of the Eliksni.  However, after the Whirlwind, an event similar to the Collapse of the Golden Age, the House of Judgement was quickly wiped out.  Variks was known as the only Fallen of the House that remained.

                Variks stood up and the Queen nodded at him, he then walked over to a door on the right side of the room.  He opened it with one of his mechanical arms and stepped inside. 

The Queen then stood up, “Guardians,” she said.  “I’m sure you know why you are here.”  She began to walk down the stairs that lead to the throne, “However, one of you is needed more than the others.  Let me explain.

“The Fallen yet Awoken woman you captured yesterday is in the room Variks just entered.  She has agreed to speak with _one_ of you Guardians; apparently she speaks our language despite only speaking with Variks so far.  However for some reason she refused to tell us which Guardian she wishes to talk to until now.  So that’s when I came up with the idea to interview _all_ of you, to ask you about your experiences with her so far.  She is the first case we’ve had like this, so we want to know all we can.  Variks will be out shortly to tell us which of you the woman has picked.”

As she said those words, Variks stepped out of the room.  “Speak of the devil,” she said.

“Not to be rude my Queen,” Variks said in his well-known, gravelly voice.  “But I know you are aware I am from House Judgement, yes…?”

“Yes, Variks, I know.  It was an expression.”  The Queen sat on the large table, “Now, who does the prisoner wish to speak with?”

Variks slowly pointed to Daydrius, “She wishes for you, the one with the dark brown skin.”

Daydrius seemed a little surprised.  “Oh, okay…” he said.

“Please,” Variks said.  “Step into the room.”

Daydrius walked over to door, Variks held it open and Daydrius stepped into a room similar to the holding pod back on the ship.  Except this one was much larger, and more pristine at that.  He spotted the Fallen woman sitting on a bed with her back against the wall, staring at him as he shut the door.  She nodded to the door that gave access to the inner cell.  

“Are you going to try and attack me this time?” Daydrius asked.

The Fallen woman simply shook her head.  He opened the door and stepped into the inner cell.  He left the door open and sat down in a metal chair.  Her crisp brown eyes were still watching him. 

“So,” Daydrius began.  “You wanted to talk to me.” He said in a somewhat questioning tone.

“Yes,” the Fallen woman said, he voice only half as gravelly as Variks’.  “But for the most part, it is a request.  A request that will lead to more talking if fulfilled.”

“Okay, what is it?”

“I want my cloak.”

“Excuse me?”

“When I was taken off your ship, the Guards must have ripped my cloak off.  I want it back.”

“I haven’t seen your cloak besides it being on you.”

“Well then somebody must have taken it, or it was left on your ship.”

“Why do you want it so badly?”

“One must fight to have a cloak such as the one I earned; one must fight hard and well.  And if you do not give it to me, then I will not reveal anything else to anyone.  But if you do, I will tell my life’s story, I’m sure you all are interested in that, yes?”

“Of course,” Daydrius slowly stood up.  “I’ll try my best to get you your cloak.”

“Good, thank you Guardian.”

“You’re welcome,” Daydrius then walked out of the holding pod. 

“Well?” The Queen asked.

“She wants her cloak.” Daydrius responded.

Variks stiffened, “She has a cloak?”

“Apparently it got ripped off of her when the Guards took her off of the ship.  She says she won’t talk until she has it.  But if she does get it back, she said she’ll tell her life story.”

“We must return her cloak,” Variks said.  “Not simply because she will talk, but for her honor.”

Syden chuckled a little, “I thought she wouldn’t have any by this point, why would she still even need the cloak?”

Variks stood up abruptly; he walked over to Syden until their faces were inches apart.  “A cloak is not a want; it is not worn for looks or glamour.  It is a sign of dignity; it is gained through trial and toil.  Eliksni must earn the right to wear a cloak and must wear it with pride.  You would not know of the things Eliksni go through in order to earn this sacred privilege.”  There was a moment of silence as Variks sat down.  “We must find her cloak soon.”

Syden sighed, “I know where it is.”

“Of course…you do,” Variks said with a slight amount of disgust in his voice.  “Now, where is it?”

“It’s back in my bedroom at our house.”

The Queen interrupted, “Then some Guards will go with you to retrieve it.”

“Go now.” Variks said sternly. 

Syden and two Guards left for the cloak, they returned minutes later.  Syden held the balled-up cloak in one hand.  Variks stood up when he saw the cloak.

“Here,” Syden threw the cloak at Variks and he made an effort to catch it, as to not let it hit the floor.

Variks uncoiled the cloak, “You heathen, disrespecting Eliksni cloak as fine as this one.”  He laid it flat on the table and stared at it for a bit.

“What is it?” The Queen asked. 

“This cloak is big,” Variks said.  “Much too big for the woman to be a lowly Captain…”


	9. A Revelation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Guardians, the Queen, and her entourage make a discovery...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Basically just exposition through dialogue. Kudos/comments/sharing is always appreciated!

“What do you mean ‘too big to be a lowly Captain’?” Queen Mara Sov inquired.  
“I am not quite sure…” Variks pondered. “It has the fur and chain accents of a higher-ranking Fallen…”  
“Such as…?” Rane asked.  
“Like that of an Archon,” Variks continued. “Or perhaps even a Kell”.  
“And you’re serious?” Daydrius spoke up. “She of all people – hell creatures – could be a Kell?”  
“Watch your tongue, boy,” Variks circled around to Daydrius. “I know you people use the word creature with a hint of disgust. And I will not tolerate it.”  
“Easy Variks,” Uldren finally spoke. “You know he didn’t mean it that way.”  
“I am aware,” Variks went back to examining the cloak. “But it still stung”.  
“I apologize,” Daydrius said. “So you really think she’s a Kell?”  
“Unless she stole it,” Variks slid his hand under the cloak and lifted it to observe it more closely. “Which would be a very difficult thing to do for her.”  
“Yeah,” Rane said. “Also it seems like it was made for her size wise.”  
“Yes. Other Eliksni Kells are much larger in size due to their large Ether rations.” Variks placed the cloak back down onto the table, “However she cannot be of that size because she cannot live off of Ether.”  
The Queen spoke up, “Could you ask her about this?”  
“She did say she would tell me her life story if she gets her cloak back,” Daydrius said this and everyone in the room looked up at him. “What?” he asked.  
Variks walked to Daydrius, cloak in hand. “You should be the one to give her this then,” he placed the cloak in his hand. They gave each other a look of understanding and Daydrius walked to the door of the holding pod. Everyone gave him looks that were varying degrees of encouragement and fear. He proceeded into the holding pod.


	10. A Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fallen woman reveals her history to Daydrius...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the chapter where the Fallen lore really comes into play. I highly recommend watching these videos before continuing, especially if you are not versed in Fallen Houses or how their hierarchy works. I put the links in the order of what should be watch first however it does not particularly matter. The ones with stars next to them are the more important ones for this chapter. Please enjoy! Kudos/comments/sharing is always appreciated. 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=New7_QDWUJk  
> ****** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z8lR2Kk0YKo ******  
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OiqQFIq5UoA  
> ****** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6uRFKsvlrJ0 ******

There was a sense of static in the air when Daydrius entered the holding pod. The Fallen woman looked up and her eyes widened when she saw her cloak in his hands. This made Daydrius stiffen, as he feared being attacked. However she proved him wrong as she calmly stood and held out her hand through the bars of her cell. As soon as cloth touched her hand she snatched the cloak away from him and placed it back on herself.  
“So?” Daydrius asked.  
“So what?” the woman replied as she fiddled with the chains and other accents on the cloak, trying to make the cloak look as it was before she was captured.  
“That life’s story of yours?”  
“Oh…yes. Please sit. We may be here a while.” Daydrius and the woman sat on the ground in unison.  
The woman put her hand to her chest, “Maeriana,” she said.  
“Is that your name?” Daydrius asked for confirmation.  
“Yes.”  
“Well my name’s Daydrius.”  
“Daydrius…” her voice lingered for a bit. “Well Daydrius, I guess I can start with how my first memory was a blue woman, a woman who looked like me, setting me down in a shroud of grass. I remember being alone for a time after that. But then a being with four arms picked me up, an Eliksni of House Devils. Looking back now, I am surprised I was not killed then and there. But their House took me in, fed me, clothed me. They raised me as one of their own. Although I remember being somewhat sheltered in the process. I watched out a window as other Eliksni children played and then trained with each other, while I did all of those things alone with no peers, only mentors. But when it was time I was thrown into the ranks, labeled as a Dreg, though I did not have to have any of my limbs taken.  
“I fought hard and was promoted to a Vandal, then to a Captain, and then when I became a Barron…things changed. I was seen as inferior by other Eliksni of my same rank for various reasons. I decided I had to leave the House Devils, I had to leave Earth. I searched for the stealthy House Kings I had heard legends of. And when I found them, they seemed almost too eager to have me. They knew who I was though, they had heard the tales of the Awoken turned – no – the Awoken born Eliksni. You see, I had come to learn that I was seen as a gift from the Great Machine, a prophecy that would bring together the Eliksni houses under one banner, the Kell of Kells. I told them I needed to leave Earth, and they told me they could get me to Venus, but they would have to abandon me there, since I was too much of a threat to their secrecy. I agreed and the next morning a small fleet left me on Venus. I remember watching their ships disappear into the sky. I was left alone once again.  
“And so I walked, I walked for days until I was able to see Eliksni banners of House Winter. I carefully approached there Ketch in the Cinders, as it was night and all were in for the time. I was ambushed by Winter Dregs and Vandals, and then I heard the call of a Kell named Draksis. He called off the soldiers and respectfully greeted me. He had heard of me as well. I was initiated into House Winter with the same Barron status I had in House Devils. I grew to become an Archon Priestess. Then after your kind slaughtered Draksis, I was chosen to become Kell in his place. I lead House Winter ruthlessly against Vex, Guardians, and other Eliksni alike. I kept our territories safe…”  
A look of resentment and fury rose in Maeriana’s eyes as she stood up, Daydrius following after her. “But then you showed up, and now my people are in danger, leaderless,” she grabbed the bars of her cell. “And I swear if any of House Winter dies at your hands, you will be the first one to die at my hands,” she backed away and sat on the bed in the cell.  
“Now will you let me go?” she asked.  
Daydrius was hesitant to speak, but finally mustered “I don’t know if I have that authority”.  
“Well then figure out who does,” she said angrily through her teeth.  
Daydrius walked out of the room with a combination of fear, worry, and relief on his face. He was glad to not be in the same room as a powerful force in the Fallen system.  
“So what did she say?” the Queen asked of him.  
Daydrius again had to force himself to speak, “She’s a Kell for the House of Winter.” He sat at the table with the rest of the Guardians. “The Fallen think she’s a prophecy–“  
“The Kell of Kells,” Variks cut Daydrius off. “What else?”  
“She wants to be released…” Daydrius was cut off yet again.  
“Well that’s not going to happen,” Uldren spoke.  
“But if she is Fallen prophecy,” Variks said. “She is no use to anyone here”.  
The queen ended the slight quarrel “We will keep her here for further questioning and decide that later”. She stood, “But for now, you six Guardians are on paid leave for the time being and will speak of this to no one. Understood?”  
The Guardians all agreed in unison.  
“Alright then,” the Queen nodded at the Guards. “Guards please escort them outside.”  
The Guards guided the group back to the Vestian Web. The Guardians walked back to their house in silence, wondering what would happen in the next hours or days to come.


End file.
